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AMMAN — Awni Aqrabawi, who was among the victims of Monday’s shooting at a police training facility in east Amman, was laid to rest in Zarqa’s Hashemiyeh cemetery on Wednesday. 

Interior Minister Salameh Hammad, who deputised for His Majesty King Abdullah, and Public Security Department (PSD) Director Maj. Gen. Atef Saudi joined relatives and friends of Aqrabawi at the funeral, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

“Aqrabawi is the son of all Jordanians. He worked for us to keep the country safe and secure,” Petra quoted Hammad as saying.

“Jordan has always succeeded in overcoming all challenges, and Jordanians will remain united in the face of anyone attempting to destabilise their country,” the minister noted.

In addition to Aqrabawi, Jordanian Kamal Malkawi, two Americans and one South African who were PSD contractors were killed in the Muwaqqar shooting, in which six people were injured.

Aqrabawi and Malkawi were working as translators with the PSD.

Malkawi was also laid to rest in Zarqa’s Hashemiyeh cemetery on Tuesday.

Authorities are investigating the shooting and sharing updates with the US and South African governments, Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani said on Tuesday.

The shooter was identified as 29-year-old Jordanian police officer Captain Anwar Abu Zaid. 

Also on Wednesday, US Ambassador to Jordan Alice G. Wells visited the condolences house of the Malkawi and Aqrabawi families in Zarqa, according to Petra.

She expressed condolences to the victims’ parents and stressed that Jordanian-US ties will continue to grow, Petra reported.

WASHINGTON — Three men killed in Monday’s shooting attack at a police training centre near Amman worked for DynCorp International, the company said on Tuesday.

DynCorp, an American intelligence and security contractor, said in a statement that one of its employees killed in the incident was American, one was South African and the third was Jordanian.

The company identified the American victim as Lloyd “Carl” Fields, 46, of Cape Coral, Florida, a former deputy sheriff from Louisiana. DynCorp said Fields began working for the company as a police adviser in Iraq in 2006, and worked as a police adviser in Afghanistan before moving to the Jordan International Police Training Centre, where Monday’s shooting took place.

The company identified the South African killed in the shooting as Conrad Vaughn Whitehorn, 37, of Johannesburg, who previously had worked as a bodyguard and driver before joining DynCorp.

DynCorp said that the name of the Jordanian killed in the incident was not being immediately released “out of respect for the family’s privacy”.

US officials have said a second American working as an adviser at the Jordanian training facility also died in the shooting. But so far the victim and his employer have not been identified. 

AMMAN — The Cabinet has issued directives to Finance Minister Omar Malhas to amend the Customs Law, allowing the confiscation or destruction — under an administrative decision — of illegally imported goods that endanger public safety, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported Wednesday.

Seven people died in a fire that erupted at one of the Amman Customs Department’s yards on October 26 after two firework containers exploded. All the victims were workers at the yard from Jordan and Egypt.

Civil Defence Department (CDD) Media Director Brig. Gen. Farid Sharaa said at the time that more than 40 fire engines, ambulances and rescue vehicles, and 150 individuals from the CDD, the customs department and the police took part in the five-hour operation to extinguish the blaze and transport the dead and injured to nearby hospitals.

After the incident, Jordan Customs Department director general Munther Assaf was referred to retirement under a Cabinet decision.

In a briefing to the Lower House Economy and Investment Committee on Monday, Amman Customs Department Director Col. Odeh Qteishat said the containers were moved from Aqaba to Amman after the Aqaba Container Terminal closed the yards allocated for storing dangerous items.

But a government official told The Jordan Times previously that the containers were seized by customs officers several weeks ago and were stored at the yards before being re-exported to Nigeria.

The government banned the import of fireworks in 2009, except for those brought into the country by public agencies for national festivities.

Until the law is amended, the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army’s Royal Engineering Corps will be responsible for destroying firework containers confiscated by customs personnel, according to Petra.

AMMAN — The attorney general has referred the case of four deaths caused by the flash floods that swept the capital last week to the prosecutor for further investigation, an official said on Wednesday.

“Amman Attorney General Ziad Dmour referred the case of the four deaths to Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abul Ghanam to collect information from the concerned officials and witnesses,” Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) Spokesperson Izziddin Shammout said.

This is a standard procedure when deaths occur in such conditions, Shammout told The Jordan Times.

The rainstorm, which hit that capital and other areas in the country last Thursday, caused floods in Amman, killing three Egyptians and one Jordanian.

“The prosecutor can summon any individual who does not have immunity for questioning. Abul Ghanam has already summoned some GAM officials to gather information and investigate the cause of the deaths,” Izziddin added.

The GAM spokesperson dismissed as baseless news reports that an individual has filed a lawsuit against Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji over the damages caused by the flooding.

“I have checked with our legal department and no entity sent any legal notification to summon our mayor,” Izziddin stressed.

Dmour was unavailable for comment all day on Wednesday.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah returned to the Kingdom on Wednesday after official visits to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

On Tuesday, King Abdullah participated in the Fourth Summit of South American-Arab Countries that was hosted in Riyadh, and on its sidelines of the summit, His Majesty met with Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Also on the sidelines of the summit, the King met with Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, deputy crown prince, second deputy prime minister and the minister of defence of Saudi Arabia.

Both meetings covered bilateral relations and developments in the region. In Manama, Bahrain on Monday, the Monarch held talks with Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday sent a cable to Japanese Emperor Akihito, congratulating him on the anniversary of his accession to the throne. In the cable, the Monarch extended his best wishes to Akihito and to the people of Japan, according to a Royal Court statement. 

AMMAN — A 54-year-old Egyptian woman on Wednesday died when she was run over by a vehicle in the Sarih area according to a Civil Defence Department (CDD) statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, five people were injured in a two-vehicle collision in the Jawa area where east Amman CDD cadres administered first aid and took them to Al Bashir Public Hospital.

They were listed in fair condition. In another two-vehicle collision, four people were injured and CDD cadres took them to Tutanji Public Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.

AMMAN — Cypriot First Lady Andri Anastasiades, wife of Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, on Wednesday visited the Children’s Museum Jordan and was briefed on the education it offers.

The museum was established in 2007 in implementation of Her Majesty Queen Rania’s vision to provide children with space dedicated to interactive learning. 

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday endorsed the validating reasons for the by-law regulating private and foreign education institutions to be sent to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau for review, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Under the new regulations, private education institutions cannot raise tuition fees during the scholastic year, and they cannot increase them by more than 5 per cent unless approved by the ministry. 

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury met with David Miliband, CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Wednesday.

Fakhoury highlighted the outcomes of the Resilience Development Forum that the Kingdom hosted this week. For his part, Miliband briefed Fakhoury on the IRC’s work in the world and in Jordan.